International Journal of Mechanical and Materials Engineering (IJMME), Vol. 4 (2009), No.

3, 279-284

MACHINABILITY OF FCD 500 DUCTILE CAST IRON USING COATED CARBIDE
TOOL IN DRY MACHINING CONDITION

A. G. Jaharah, Mohd Nor Azmi Mohd Rodzi, A. Abdul Rahman, Mohd Nizam Ab. Rahman and C. H. Che Hassan
Department of Mechanical and Material Engineering,
Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment,Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Email: jaharah@eng.ukm.my


ABSTRACT

Machining is the most important manufacturing process
in these modern industries especially for producing
automotive component. In this study, ductile cast iron
grade FCD 500 was machined using carbide cutting
tool in dry end milling condition. The end milling
parameters used were cutting speed of 180 m/min, 210
m/min dan 260 m/min. The feed rate of 0.10 mm/tooth,
0.25 mm/ tooth and 0.40 mm/ tooth, and the depth of
cut of 0.30 mm, 0.60 mm dan 0.90 mm. Orthogonal L
9

array in Taguchi method was employed to carry out the
experimental work. The results were analyzed using
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to determine the effect
of end milling parameters on the tool life, cutting force
and surface roughness measured. From the analysis it
was found that the depth of cut and feed rate are the
most important parameter influencing the tool life. The
optimal tool life was found at cutting speed of 180
m/min, feed rate of 0.10 mm/tooth and depth of cut of
0.30 mm. A good surface finish was obtained at cutting
speed of 260 m/min, feed of 0.10 mm/ tooth and depth
of cut of 0.90 mm. Whereas, at cutting speed of 210
m/min, feed of 0.10 mm/ tooth and depth of cut of 0.30
mm, the lowest cutting force was measured. Wear
mechanism at the tool surface such as crater wear,
cracking and chipping were observed. These optimum
parameters obtained will help automotive industry to
have a competitive machining operation from the
economical and manufacturing perspective.

Keywords: FDC500 ductile cast iron, carbide tool,
Taguchi Method, Wear mechanism, machining
performance.

1. INTRODUCTION

Cast iron usually refers to grey cast iron, but identifies
a large group of ferrous alloys, which solidify with a
eutectic (Trent, 1981). Casting of gray cast iron has
relatively few shrinkage cavities and little porosity
(Kalpakjian & Schmid, 2001). Generally, white cast
iron is hard and brittle, which is difficult to machined
(Gonzalez & Bhadeshia, 2001). In addition, the casting
process is never perfect especially when dealing with
large components (Gonzalez & Bhadeshia, 2001).
Instead of scrapping the defective castings parts,
repaired can be also done by welding. Very high
carbon concentration in the typical cast iron causes
difficulties due to the brittle martensite in the heat-
affected zone of the weld. In order to avoid cracking, it
is therefore necessary to preheat the cast iron to the
temperature of about 450C followed by slow cooling
after welding (Goodrich, 2007).
Goodrich (2007) discussed that the machining
problems of cast iron is not necessarily foundry-
related. Machining problems associated with cast iron
were drilling, milling, turning and other machining
processes. Most of the problems were due to the
microstructure formation/changes during the
machining process itself. As an example, during the
high pressure drilling operation, the matrix structure of
the cast iron was actually being changed due to stress
transformation of the high carbon-retained austenite in
the matrix into martensite (Griffin et al, 2007). This
transformation produces a much greater wear, and
machining-resistant matrix-martensite. Hence, the
drilling nearly stops and soon the drill was "fried." The
solution suggested to overcome the problems were to
increase the feed rate and reduce the turning rate so
that any material that was transformed will be removed
as the transformation was occurring. Thus, a hardened
layer would not be developed under the tool (Goodrich,
2007). Cast iron is comparatively brittle material;
therefore it is not suitable for product where a sharp
edge or flexibility is required. It also has a property
which is strong under compression but not under
tension (Gonzalez & Bhadeshia, 2001).
FCD 500 is widely used in automotive industry such as
for fuel pump and oil pump, engine cylinder and cranks
shaft. This material has a great potential due to good
mechanical property, easy to cast and cheap. Carbide
tool is important in machining application due to
availability and cheap as compared to other cutting tool
material such as CBN, eventhough it is preferred in
machining cast iron. Dry machining is becoming
important due to the awareness towards the
environment and workers health (Gundlach &
janowak, 1985). Cutting fluid also add another 16-20%
of manufacturing cost (Gundlach & janowak, 1985),
therefore optimum use of cutting fluid is a must.
According to Komanduri (1983), associated cost with
the cutting fluid, sometimes exceed the cost of labour
and tooling.
This paper will presents the machining factors that
affecting the machinability of FCD500 interms of
cutting force, surface roughness and tool life. The wear
mechanism of the cardibe tool also will be discussed in
detailed.
279


2. EXPERIMENTAL WORK

The machining trials were carried out on a Cincinnati
Milacron, model Sabre 750/TNC 415 Control in dry
condition. The FC 500 (JIS) grade cast iron with
eutectic graphite and ferrite was prepared in180mm x
100mm x 50mm block. The hardness and tensile
strength are in the range of 75 - 95 HRB and 250 350
N/mm
2
respectively. Table 1 shows the composition of
cast iron grade FCD500 used in the experiment.
The T150M grade coated Al
2
O
3
carbide cutting insert
was used in these experiments. The technique of CVD
coating applied for the insert is suitable for machining
ductile gray cast iron material. Table 2 shows the
mechanical properties of the coated carbide insert
T150M.


Table 1 The composition of cast iron grade FC500 (Sirim, 2008)
Element percentage (%)
C Si S P Mn Ni Cr Cu Mg Al Co
2.77 1.26 0.11 0.036 1.24 0.26 0.27 0.18 0.127 0.063 0.073

Table 2 The mechanical properties of coated carbide insert T150M
Nose radius

Taguchis design of experiment with a standard L
9
(3
4
)
orthogonal array was utilised (Park, 1996). The

orthogonal array was chosen because of its minimum
number of required experimental trials. The nine
machining conditions are shown in Table 3.

Table 3 Experimental details of the machining trials
Experiment
no.
Cutting speed, V
(m/min)
Feed rate, f
(mm/tooth)
Depth of cut (mm)
1 180 0.1 0.3
2 180 0.25 0.6
3 180 0.40 0.9
4 210 0.1 0.6
5 210 0.25 0.9
6 210 0.40 0.3
7 260 0.1 0.9
8 260 0.25 0.1
9 260 0.40 0.6

The tool wear on the flank face was measured after the
first path using a tool makers microscope equipped
with graduated scale in mm. The wear measurement
requirement would then depend on the rate of wear
growth. The measured parameter to represent the
progress of wear was the maximum tool wear VB
max.
The machining would be stopped when VB
max.
reached
0.3 mm. The cutting forces in X, Y, and Z directions
were measured online during the milling operation
using Kistler dynamometer model 9275B. The surface
roughness of the workpiece was measured at several
locations along the length of the cut using a portable
Mitutoyo surface roughness tester.
3.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

3.1Experimental Results and ANOVA

Table 4 shows the tool life of T150M grade carbide
tools in minutes when machining cast iron in dry
cutting condition. The longest tool life of 41.34
minutes was achieved in trial 1 at cutting speed of
180m/min, feed rate of 0.1 mm/tooth and depth of cut
of 0.3 mm. ANOVA analysis in Table 5 shows that the
effect of cutting speed is negligible as compared to
feed rate and depth of cut of 30% and 70% respectively
on the tool life. Generally, at the combination of low
cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut resulted in
better tool life; Ghani et al. (Ghani et al, 2004)
obtained similar results when machining hardened
steels. The lowest tool life of 0.26 minutes was
obtained with trial 3, at the biggest feed rate (0.4
mm/tooth) and the biggest depth of cut (0.9 mm).
However, increase of cutting speed while keeping the
feed rate at high value would further shorten the tool
life as in Test 9. This was due to the feed rate which
strongly influenced the range of chip thickness from
tooth entry to exit (Melkote & Endres,1998) and chip
area on the end mill (Sutherland & Devor,1986).
r

Rake angle

Main coating material
0.4 24 AL
2
O
3
+ Ti (C,N)
280

Generally, low values of cutting force and surface
roughness were obtained at low combination of feed
rates and depth of cut as shown in Table 4 for trial 1, 4,
6 and 8. ANOVA analysis in Table 6 shows that the
feed rate and depth of cut will greatly influence the
generated cutting force. These parameters contribute
about 98% to the generated cutting force. The
combination of feed rate and depth of cut determines
the undeformed chip section and hence the amount of
energy required to remove a specified volume of
material.

Table 4 The tool life, surface roughness and cutting force of T150M coated carbide tool when machining cast iron in
dry condition



Table 5 ANOVA for tool life

Factors and contribution
A B C
Net total
Sum at factor level Cutting speed,
V
c
Feed rate,

f
Depth of cut
d
0 40.9592 64.0154 67.7025 172.6771
1 36.8283 33.7359 49.9042 120.4685
2 36.7492 16.7853 -3.0700 50.4645
Sum of squares (S) 34.7948 3434.8465 8131.8000 11601.44
Percentage contribution (%) 0.3 29.6 70.1 100.0

Table 6 ANOVA for cutting force

Factors and contribution
A B C
Sum at factor level
Cutting speed,
V
c
Feed rate,
f
Depth of cut
d
Net total
0 -172.1930 -163.3304 -160.0810 -495.6043
1 -170.7041 -172.4994 -174.3688 -517.5723
2 -174.0216 -181.0890 -182.4690 -537.5797
Sum of squares (S) 16.5667 473.2232 770.9794 1260.7694
Percentage contribution (%) 1.3 37.5 61.2 100.0
The required force to form the chips is dependent on
the shear yield strength of the work material under
cutting conditions and on the area of the chip section
and the shear zone. The feed per tooth and the depth of
cut determine this area. The low value of cutting force
is desired to cut an unsupported beam or thin sections
Experiment
no
Cutting speed
Vc (m/min)
Feed rate

f
(mm/tooth)
Depth of
cut
d
(mm)
Tool life
(min)
Surface
roughness,
Ra
(m)
Cutting
force, Fc
(N)
1 180 0.10 0.30 41.34 1,357 290.92
2 180 0.25 0.60 10.39 1,793 845.9
3 180 0.40 0.90 0.26 1.845 1654.08
4 210 0.10 0.60 10.38 0.580 579.11
5 210 0.25 0.90 0.73 2,370 922.38
6 210 0.40 0.30 9.16 1,814 642
7 260 0.10 0.90 3.70 0.732 870.93
8 260 0.25 0.30 6.41 0.814 540.43
9 260 0.40 0.60 2.90 2,507 1067.48
281

as well as to preserve material properties against
residual stress and change in micro hardness at the
subsurface. ANOVA analysis in Table 7 shows that the
feed rate is significantly affecting the Ra produced,
followed by the cutting speed and depth of cut. The
contribution of feed rate, cutting speed and depth of cut
are 45%, 32%, and 23% respectively. The surface
roughness produced in milling operation depends on
feed rate (Martelotti, 1941), and the tool angular
position depends on the depth of cut and radius of the
cutter (Bornemann, 1938). The influence of the cutting
speed on the work-piece surface roughness is complex
and it is quite dependent on the material properties of
the cutting tools. For the tools with higher hardness and
fracture toughness, the work-piece surface roughness
decreases as the cutting speed increases. Tools with
lower hardness and fracture toughness, the work-piece
surface roughness increases as the cutting speed
increases (Li & Low, 1994).

Table 7 ANOVA for surface roughness

Factors and contribution
A B C
Net total
Sum at factor level
Cutting speed, V
c
Feed rate,

f
Depth of cut
d

0 -133.0431 -55.2104 -126.0368 -314.2903
1 -127.9363 -130.7791 -128.3233 -387.0386
2 -63.4858 -138.4758 -70.1051 -272.0667
Sum of squares (S)
9018.1665 12702.988 6522.9358 28244.091
Percentage contribution (%)
31.9 45.0 23.1 100.0

3.2 Wear Mechanisms

Wear rate is defined as the volume or mass material
removed per unit time or per unit sliding distance and
is a complex function of time (Bhushan, 1999). The
initial period during which wear rate changes is known
as the run-in or break-in period. Figure 1 shows the
wear mechanism on the flank face when machining at
cutting speed of 180 m/min, feed rate of 0.1 mm/tooth
and depth of cut of 0.3 mm. At this cutting condition,
the longest tool life of 41.34 minutes was obtained.
Examination under the SEM shows that the wear on
the flank face was uniformed and the coating material
of Al
2
O
3
was removed from the cutting edge. It is said
so due to the presence of two layers of material
observed on the cutting edge. This phenomenon was
believed to occur due to the stress concentration which
led to the cohesive failure on the flank cutting wedge
as found by Lin and Khrais (2007). Sharif and Rahim
(2007) found that the flank wear land increases
gradually at low cutting speed. At low cutting speed
wear mechanism is due to abrasion (Arsecularatne,
2006), and micro-attrition (Ghani et al 2004) as shown
in Figures 1-3. Nose wear is also observed as shown in
Figure 1. According to Ibrahim et al (2009), low depth
cut and cutting speed would cause the wear formation
near to the nose radius of carbide tool as observed in
machining titanium alloy. Wear will deteriorate the
machined part such as, machining with carbide worn
tool with flank wear =0.3 mm, resulted in deeper
penetration on microstructural changes of H13 tool
steel, and the hardness underneath the generated
surface was 30% more in relation to the hardness of the
basic material (Jaharah et al, 2009).

Catastrophic falure of cutting edge is found when used
high depth of cut and feed rate of 0.9 mm and 0.4
mm/tooth respectively as shown in Figure 2.


Nose wear

Fig. 1. Wear on the flank face when machining at
cutting speed of 180 m/min, feed rate of 0.1 mm/tooth
and depth of cut of 0.3 mm

Grooving and chipping are clearly observed on the
cutting edge as similarly found by Ghani et al. (2004).
Failure may probably due to sudden of sharpness loss
at the cutting edge (Trent, 1981). Finding form Sharif
and Rahim (2007) also show that feed rate and depth of
cut play an important role in determining the tool life.
Crater wear is also observed on the rake face as shown
282

in Figure 3. Flaking and fracturing of the rake face
occur most liely due to high feed rate of 0.4 mm/tooth.
Jaharah et al (2007), found that combination of high
feed rate and depth of cut would cause cracking and
fracturing of the cutting edge, and led to catastrophic
failure of the tool edge.



Fig. 2. Chipping and grooving on the flank face when
machining at cutting speed of 180 m/min, feed rate of
0.4 mm/tooth and depth of cut of 0.9 mm



Fig. 3. Crater wear on the rake face when machining at
cutting speed of 210 m/min, feed rate of 0.4 mm/tooth
and depth of cut of 0.3 mm

4.0 CONCLUSIONS

The effect of cutting speed is almost negligible as
compared to feed rate and depth of cut on the tool life
of the carbide cutting tool. The effect of rate and depth
of cut are 30% and 70% respectively on the tool life.
Low values of cutting force and surface roughness are
obtained at low combination of feed rates and depth of
cut. ANOVA analysis shows that the feed rate and
depth of cut will greatly influence the generated cutting
force which contributed about 98% to the generated
cutting force. Feed rate is significantly affecting the Ra
produced, followed by the cutting speed and depth of
cut. The contribution of feed rate, cutting speed and
depth of cut are 45%, 32%, and 23% respectively. The
experimental results revealed that the major
contribution to wear mechanism were feed rate and
depth of cut, for this range of cutting speed, feed rate
and depth of cut. The wear mechanism is
predominantly controlled by the flank wear on the
flank face at all ranges of cutting speed, and crater
wear at high cutting speed. Moreover, catastrophic
failure such as chipping and grooving were observed
on the cutting edge at high cutting speed of 210 m/min,
feed rate of 0.4 mm/tooth and depth of cut of 0.3 mm,
which then limit the tool life only up to 0.29 min.
Other wear mechanism observed was nose wear at low
cutting speed of 180 m/min, feed rate of 0.1 mm/tooth
and depth of cut of 0.3 mm.
Grooving and chipping
Micro crack

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to thank to the Government of
Malaysia/Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia for financial
support under 03-01-02-SF0214 grant.

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